Weed Control: The How to Guide

This flavour, don't let weeds get the best of your lawn. From dandelions to quack grass, there are several different types of weeds that tin can be easily prevented or removed with a specific handling.

With this how-to guide from Briggs & Stratton, you lot will learn nearly lawn weed types and likewise a better understanding of different weed control solutions.

A Salubrious Lawn Prevents Weeds

Preventing weeds helps you lot to maintain a beautiful backyard. Thick, healthy grass prevents weeds from stealing the nutrients needed to thrive; h2o and sunshine. As well:

  • While mowing the lawn, whether y'all're using a riding mower or a push button mower powered past a Briggs & Stratton engine, never cut more than than 1-3rd off of the leaf blade. This ensures an even cutting and will forbid against this issue known as scalping. Scalping can cause irreparable lawn damage for the season and promotes weed growth.

  • H2o the lawn early in the morning, a few times each week, adding up to about an inch of h2o. Longer, healthier grass is more than resilient to weed growth.

  • Fertilize your lawn to help create a robust grass root system that makes it a hard surroundings for weeds to thrive. An ideal frequency is 4 to 5 times per year merely depends on the type of ingredients you're using.

  • When planting seedlings and sodding spotty grass, your lawn is in danger of weeds. Understanding how to weed and feed your lawn will protect babe grass from weed overgrowth.

Herbicides & Weed Control

A well-maintained and healthy lawn is a adept start, but, weed sprouts tin still crop upwardly. And herbicides are one way to control an outbreak.

  • The three primary herbicide ingredients are Mecoprop, 2  four-D, Dicamba. When used in different combinations, these ingredients kill weeds and provide overall weed control.
  • The toughest kinds of weeds such as crabgrass, sedges and broadleaf weeds, can be effectively controlled/prevented with products using quinclorac as an agile ingredient.

  • To kill anything light-green, including grass, employ glyphosate, the not-selective weed killer. Best for cracks in the sidewalk or driveway.

  • Advisedly follow all safety precautions for all herbicides used.

While herbicides are one option, another alternative to weed control is removal with a straight screwdriver and pull weeds out of the basis by hand. Although this volition have some effort, it provides constructive command and helps forestall weeds from spreading.

Lawn Weed Types

The broadleaf weed and the grassy weed are the two basic types of unwanted plants you will find in your grand. These can exist eliminated by combining herbicide ingredients and lawn care in different combinations. Remember fall is the best time to for broadleaf weed control and spring is the best time for grassy weed command.

Check out different types of lawn weeds to place what is growing in your yard:


Lawn Weed Types
Clarification Weed Control
Annual Bluegrass
  • Yellowish/calorie-free green color
  • Boat shaped leaves
  • Grows in clumps
You may choose to manage almanac bluegrass rather than effort to eradicate it. Considering its most distinct difference is its yellowish color, regular fertilization of your lawn tin assistance mask its presence. Any dead patches in your lawn must exist seeded quickly to forestall annual bluegrass from growing back.
Virginia Push Weed
  • Grows low
  • Perennial weed
  • Long, pointed leaves that grow opposite stem and other leaves
If any portion of its below-ground-stem remains after hand-pulling or herbicide awarding, it can produce another plant. Decision-making Virginia Button weed with herbicides usually requires more than than one awarding in the same season.
Smooth Crabgrass
  • Light green
  • Warm season
  • Perennial weed
Apply herbicide in the bound, before soil temperatures become ideal for growth. If crabgrass has already started growing, a dissimilar variety of herbicide designed for mature plants is needed.
Dishonest Grass
  • Irksome-greenish color
  • Sprouts coarse grass
Thriving in cool climates, quack grass flourishes in under-fertilized lawns. It tin can quickly spread from neighboring yards, only it often hitches along with nursery stock, or contaminated mulch and topsoil. There are no herbicides designed for quack grass. If you see a plant, remove it right away or spot-spray information technology with an herbicide glyphosate (which will kill all green).
Spotted Spurge
  • Broadleaf weed
  • Spreads chop-chop in dense mats
  • Crimson spots on leaves

Common in high-traffic areas, the spotted spurge is a practiced indicator of compacted soil and will even abound in the cracks of sidewalks if information technology has plenty moisture. Information technology thrives throughout the jump and summertime. Eliminating compact soil and ensuring proper mowing peak will create a healthy lawn, resistant to this weed. Herbicides in the spring tin foreclose its initial growth, and are effective when the weed plant is young.

Large Crabgrass
  • Perennial
  • Lite dark-green in color
  • Thrives in a dense lawn
Apply herbicide in the leap, before soil temperatures become ideal for growth. If crabgrass has already started growing, a different variety of herbicide designed for mature plants is needed. Eliminating mature plants in the tardily summer is very difficult, but they will die with the get-go frost.
Broadleaf Plaintain
  • Wide, spoon-shaped leaves
  • Pocket-sized celery-stalk-like stems
Broadleaf plantain is non easily pulled from the basis because of its thick taproot. Even when treated with an herbicide, broadleaf plantain often has big carbohydrate stores in its roots which permit information technology to survive. The leaves may shrivel and disappear later herbicide application, but the weed may regrow within a few weeks.
Dandelion
  • Bright yellowish flowers
  • White, fuzz ball seed-heads
  • Feather construction that can float a long distance on a breeze
Utilise herbicide in fall, only before or right subsequently tree leaves autumn, The herbicide'south active ingredients move directly to the root system, which is the only office of the weed that's still growing at this time. Yous won't see many dandelions dying in fall as the found stores free energy for next spring, only exist assured the herbicide is killing the root organisation.
Dallis Grass
  • Wide leafage bract
  • Grows in clumps
  • Broad diameter
  • Unattended, weed develops a heavy stalk

Dallis grass is a tough weed to control one time already growing in your yard. In that location are very few herbicides, particularly those available to homeowners, which will selectively control Dallis grass within other warm-season grasses. The agile ingredients foramsulfuron and sulfosulfuron have been shown to provide some command.

Refer to the backyard weeds chart throughout the season for control over unwanted plants. To learn more about how to maintain a healthy, weed-gratis lawn, find a Briggs & Stratton Dealer in your surface area today!

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